Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Let's hear your thoughts on keys. Sure, a lot of us love the key of G, and E, and D, but let's conjecture on changing keys to suit your own voice, to match a record, etc.

I employ various keys to explore different dynamic ranges in both instruments and vocal stylings. I would exhort those who simply play in their favorite key to explore the other keys available to them.

Since most of my musical training (what little of it I've had) has been on the piano, I find myself constantly gravitating towards the key of C. Since the person I play with most of the time is a keyboardist, I know he appreciates it too. However, when playing with other guitarists, E of course is the first key of choice.

Really? I've found E trickier than G, C, D, A, etc because of the B major chord. A lot of the time I just want a B without the 7th, and that requires a bar on the 2nd fret, with an A chord shape on top of that. Of course there are always my ska three string chords...

C/Am, G/Em, F/Dm, D/Hm. E and A as well. Depends on the song. Sometimes changing keys within the song - starting in Am, moving to Hm, then Cm, then Dm, then back to Am. Am to Hm or Dm to Em (for the last verse) within a song - sounds cool, imho.

I russian music written differently?

I tend to write songs in minor keys. Emin is a particular fave, given the vocal range of my lead singer. Although, "Dmin is the saddest of all keys"

Don't quite understand your question, Greg. The usual form is "Do/Re/Mi/etc major/minor", and those who have nothing to do with music theory or education (like me) simply name the main chord to indicate the key. Or, rather, chords, for "parallel" keys (ehm, sorry - as i said, i know way too little about theory) - like Am and C, for instance.
Another effective "key switch" is minor to major in the same key (mean Amin to Amaj). Sorry, cannot put it better.
Some also say that Emin is "female" key, while Dmin is "male". Well, perhaps, perhaps. But i actually prefer the latter over the former. Because the chords are easier, perhaps.

maybe I should have prefaced that I'm a bass player. Chords? What are those? lol

H or (Aitch) minor must be an Australian key? Perhaps that is the "Lost Chord" The Moody Blues were searching for?

Western scales are usually C D E F G A B C

German music in the... hmm... 1700s??? (Rough guess) had other charcters like H.

Oh. Now i get it. Just a slight difference in notation. H = Si, B = Si mol - that's how it is here. Just a little difference. I understand it might sound funny for you, but that's how i (and most of my friends here who play guitar) have been taught.

This is interesting. I was very surprised the first time I played a guitar with an Italian guy - "G C D, dude" and he looked at me and said, "What?" He knew do re mi and I knew A B C and I was stuck trying to convert in real time.

What is this, the Sound of Music? Where's Julie "Nazi Killer" Andrews when you need her?

First thing i've learned when i started on guitar: A = La, B (H here) = Si (B for Si mol here), C = Do, D = Re, E = Mi, F = Fa, G = Sol. I always thought it was easy...

mol = flat.

I played piano in a Spanish speaking church for four years and had to learn solfedge-based chords too. In Spanish (Puerto Rican based at least) they call flat "bimol" and sharp "sostenido." And it sounds like the H/B thing is derived from the German system. In fact, I remember hearing that many classical composers included melodic passages that went B, A, C, H, as a tribute to J.S. Bach. Of course, in the Western contemporary system that would be... hmmm...
Bb (B flat)
A
C
B (natural)

Please correct me if I'm wrong. Music History 201 was, for me, at 8:00am three days a week, seven years ago. Not an ideal learning situation for a college student!

"German music in the... hmm... 1700s??? (Rough guess) had other characters like H."

Jason, I get the feeling that a lot of the slightly younger members of the forum must think that I am older than dirt, but just how old do you think I am?